‘We will not be silenced’: Kalonzo speaks after teargas encounter
By Cynthia Lodite, February 16, 2026Wiper Patriotic Front Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has come out lashing at the police officers after teargas were fired into a crowd he was set to address alongside the United Opposition leaders.
In a statement on his official X account on Monday 16,2026, Kalonzo explained that the incident happened shortly after a meeting with the Kenya Police Service Inspector General.
“Barely moments after leaving the office of the Kenya Police Service Inspector General, where we had gone peacefully, lawfully, and in good faith to demand accountability, we were once again met with teargas and brute force. Our only intention was to walk to Tea Room Nairobi and address Kenyans in a calm, peaceful gathering,” Kalonzo said.
“There was no provocation. There was no violence. There were only citizens and their leaders exercising their constitutional right to assemble and to speak.
Yet once again, the response of the State was force,” Kalonzo stated.
According to Kalonzo, canisters of teargas were fired into a crowd of innocent Kenyans who were left choking, running, and scattering, not because they had broken any law, but because they had shown up to listen to the United Opposition leaders.
“Let me be clear: we will not retreat. We will not be silenced. We will not surrender our constitutional freedoms. The demand for accountability will only grow louder, stronger, and more united,” Kalonzo added.
United Oposition demands to IG Kanja
This comes just moments after the Members of the United Opposition have given the Inspector General of the National Police Service a deadline of Friday, February 20, 2026, to convene a meeting with the team.
This follows a failed attempt by the members of the United Opposition to meet the inspector general of police in his office.
Speaking during a press release after visiting the inspector general’s office in Nairobi on Monday, February 16, 2026, the members of the United Opposition have accused the Inspector General of failing to attend the meeting as agreed.
The opposition has stated that the inspector general of police failed to show up and failed to send the deputy inspector general to represent him. The opposition’s statement was highlighted by the DAP-K party leader, Eugene Wamalwa.
“We are here today, but the IG is not here. Not even the DIG Lang’at is here. Not even DIG Masengeli is here. They have all taken off. We believe this is from orders from above, where they have been instructed not to engage us.
“But this is an issue of accountability, so we are not going to relent. We have said we will be back here again on Friday, and when we come, we expect no other than IG Kanja to be here to address the concerns that we have raised. If he does not appear, we will keep coming here until we hold accountable all those officers who have conducted these gross violations of human rights,”Wamalwa stated.